Running is like mouthwash; if you can feel the burn, it's working

Two years ago my then boyfriend (now hubby) and I had plans to run a 5K together. For several months we trained using the Couch to 5K plan, but a mere month prior to the race, I was sidelined with really bad knee pain. Intial indications were that it was a tear to one of my liagments . However, that diagnosis turned out to be wrong. The injury was the result of overuse and I was able run that the race . But afterwards, my doctor suggested a take a full month off from running, and so I did. One month became two, two became thre....

And as you probably guessed within a few months I had given up running all together. But recently the demands of my job, my new daughter, and general life have had me longing to lace up my sneaks and head off for a run. So I've dusted off my old copy of the Couch to 5K program and have set out to gain the ability to run a 5K.

I am not at Week 5. Yesterday, was the first workout of that week. The plan for the day looked like this:

5 minute warm up walk
5 minute jog
3 minute walk
5 minute jog
3 minute walk
5 minute jog
5 minute cool down walk.

The first two jogging segments posed little difficulty for me. Since I was running indoors, I was able to set the treadmill's pace to a comfortable 5.3 and keep steady. However, the last 5 minute segment was HARD . My legs felt like lead pipes, my lungs were burning, and I developed a sharp pain in my side. I had to cut that segment down to just 3 minutes.

After my run, I wondered what went wrong. Looking back over the day, I realized that I had not properly fueled my body or hydrated very well. So today, I am eating better and getting in my daily water. I hope to repeat yesterday's workout this evening, and have better results.